New Podcast Gets Australian Teachers Talking Maths
A new Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) podcast is proving a professional development game changer for mathematics educators.
MATHSTALK is the brainchild of AMSI Schools, the team behind the national BHP funded Choose Maths project. Drawing on their collective decades of teaching experience and mathematics expertise, it features practical tips and advice for teachers on the big ideas in mathematics understanding.
The podcast means teachers can access high-quality, practical professional development conveniently, no matter where they are located and importantly bring new knowledge and skill aligned to key learning outcomes into their classroom to benefit students.
“We’ll be looking at crucial mathematical topics students need to understand for mathematical fluency, as well as approaches to support good problem solving and reasoning skills,” says AMSI Outreach Officer and MATHSTALK Producer and Co-host, Nadia Abdelal.
Current episodes include Multiplicative Thinking 1 and Fractional Thinking with a third part of this series underway. Further episodes in planning.
AMSI Schools Outreach Officer and MATHSTALK co-host, Marcus Garrett, said the podcast was an exciting opportunity to scale up the impacts of the Choose Maths project’s successful one-on-one teacher outreach.
“This technology makes the benefits of one-on-one professional development and professional and collegial support accessible to all mathematics teachers from early education to end of high-school,” he said.
From major cities to some of the most remote communities in Australia, AMSI’s Choose Maths project team has delivered over 7000 hours of professional development to 3000 teachers around Australia. The big winners are the over 58,000 students who have benefited from this transfer of expertise.
AMSI Schools Program Manager and Choose Maths Project Director, Janine Sprakel, said the team developed MATHSTALK to fill a critical gap in resources and remove barriers to professional development such as access and geography.
“Each session’s mix of know-how, content knowledge and pedagogical expertise, means teachers can easily transfer training into classroom practice. Importantly, it is accessible to educators whether they are located in the city or very remote communities,” she says.
MATHSTALK is available to download at calculate.org.au/mathstalk-podcast/ or mathstalk.podbean.com
AMSI is the collaborative enterprise of Australia’s mathematical sciences. Established as an independent platform and advocate for the discipline, the Institute has built a record of national and international achievement as the recognised leader in delivery of services, activities and strategic initiatives across the mathematical pipeline.
Working with key discipline, government and industry partners, AMSI delivers its mission through through the delivery of activities and engagement under its Schools, Research, Higher Education and APR.Intern Programs.
More information:
Calculate
Schools
Careers
Available for Interview
Janine Sprakel, AMSI Schools Program Manager and Choose Maths Project Director
Nadia Abdelal, AMSI Schools Outreach Officer, MathsTalk Producer and Co-Host
Marcus Garrett, AMSI Schools Outreach Officer and MathsTalk Co-Host
Michael O’Connor, AMSI Schools Outreach Manager
Media Contact: Laura Watson
E: media@amsi.org.au
M: 04215 18733
